Welcome to the Piano World Piano ForumsOver 2 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers
(it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

Next time you try that and she's around, plonk really badly at it so she'll come over and "help" you out with it.

Try again and the next time segue into the End Theme for the Loonie Tunes cartoons. She'll probably jump back in disbelief (of course you have to learn that little flare some time when she's not in the house!)

I must be a musical genius because I do not understand how anyone cannot instantly figure out Mary had a Little Lamb on the piano. My retarded blind limbless half sister can pluck out the song with her nose without even the need to make hilarious vocalizations (okay I don't really have a retarded blind limbless half-sister).

I just don't get it. The ability to play Mary had a Little Lamb, Hearts and Souls, and Chopsticks on a piano is embedded in everyones DNA, that's scientific fact.

And everyone knows C major is the natural resonance of the universe, so it should be eeeeaaaaaaaaaasy.

Ouch. You really hit a nerve with me. I have a lousy ear, and really have to struggle to pick out a tune. I got a book called "How to play the piano despite years of Lessons." It has some good suggestions for playing by ear.

I can do simple chording, but nothing like what a friend of mine---who never had a lesson in her life and can't read music can do. She has mastered all the different rhythms--Spanish, boogie, jazz etc.,and can play just about anything, and she plays it well.

Sheesh, do I ever feel inadequate. So, I can understand Matt's feelings when his little daughter sat down and rippled off "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Gaby tu

I learned piano by ear because as a kid, I really had no other choice. Lessons had never been made available, so teaching myself was the only way I knew. I can play OK by ear (I can play alot of music/harmonies from Les Miserables - I even sometimes play along as if I'm part of the orchestra) and I can also play some 'popular' music. Playing by ear can be great because I can commit it to memory and add in my own touches. However, sometimes if I hear something in the car and try to play it by memory I have trouble getting it in the right key. So that takes some adjustment. Usually I only get the root notes. Bass cleft and Chords are hard for me to glean just by hearing the music.Then again, sometimes it's a curse. Learning to read music has been pretty hard and I find it difficult to actually follow the music. Usually I eventually memorize it, and inadvertently stop looking at the score, which defeats the purpose of reading music. Sight reading is also very hard for me.My girlfriend is in the opposite situation. I'm jealous of her because she can sightread well and has been doing it for years, but she can't play by ear (which she's jealous of me for). I just hope it's possible for me to be good at both.

Wade, I like the way the authors Cannel and Marx debunk a lot of myths about piano playing.

I already understood theory, and my way around the keyboard, but picking out a melody was something else again.

Therefore, for me the most helpful part was Chapter 35, page178 where they tell you which note of the chord the melody starts on (the root, the 3rd, or the 5th). Once I understood that I was able to play a chord, and from it, determine which note was the beginning note of the melody. After that everything fell into place.

Originally posted by MooGoo: I must be a musical genius because I do not understand how anyone cannot instantly figure out Mary had a Little Lamb on the piano. My retarded blind limbless half sister can pluck out the song with her nose without even the need to make hilarious vocalizations (okay I don't really have a retarded blind limbless half-sister).

I just don't get it. The ability to play Mary had a Little Lamb, Hearts and Souls, and Chopsticks on a piano is embedded in everyones DNA, that's scientific fact.

And everyone knows C major is the natural resonance of the universe, so it should be eeeeaaaaaaaaaasy. [/b]

Originally posted by MooGoo: I must be a musical genius because I do not understand how anyone cannot instantly figure out Mary had a Little Lamb on the piano. My retarded blind limbless half sister can pluck out the song with her nose without even the need to make hilarious vocalizations (okay I don't really have a retarded blind limbless half-sister).

I just don't get it. The ability to play Mary had a Little Lamb, Hearts and Souls, and Chopsticks on a piano is embedded in everyones DNA, that's scientific fact.

And everyone knows C major is the natural resonance of the universe, so it should be eeeeaaaaaaaaaasy. [/b]

Originally posted by MooGoo: I must be a musical genius because I do not understand how anyone cannot instantly figure out Mary had a Little Lamb on the piano. My retarded blind limbless half sister can pluck out the song with her nose without even the need to make hilarious vocalizations (okay I don't really have a retarded blind limbless half-sister).

I just don't get it. The ability to play Mary had a Little Lamb, Hearts and Souls, and Chopsticks on a piano is embedded in everyones DNA, that's scientific fact.

And everyone knows C major is the natural resonance of the universe, so it should be eeeeaaaaaaaaaasy. [/b]

Wow. Seaside's rendition is fantastic. Loved it. Got me so inspired I rushed to the piano to try my hand at it.

I played around a bit with the tune, and had the most fun playing it in c minor. (just flatted all the e's. as moo goo suggested.) My playing is very elementary so far, but at least I was able to pick out the melody all way through and embellish it with some full chords, arpeggios etc. What fun. I think my ear is beginning to get fine tuned and eventually will be able to direct my fingers to the correct notes, without the fumbling in between.

This has opened a whole new area of exploration for me. Bless Mary and her little lamb. She is leading me to new heights of musical prowess.

From now on, I am going to incorporate some playing by ear into my regular practice sessions.Gaby Tu